Oh, My.
I don't know. Maybe I'm overly-jaded at too many times, but every once in a while something strikes my funnybone so squarely that I just cannot stop laughing. Today's prime example:
When Harry Met Crazy
Too true.
July 31, 2009
I'm Just Saying...
Once in a while, working with the public can be extraordinarily frustrating.
Of course, these things happen.
FARK Headline of the Day
Both for the Minnesota angle and the fact that I heard about it on the radio with Pat Kessler last night:
Minnesota Democrats put out a press release accidentally linking to a YouTube video of a man tricking his Chinese grandma into shouting profanity
Way to go...
'Toon of the Day
Just for the image:
Rob Rogers Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jul 31, 2009 |
It amuses me, still...
The Basics
Ads with the Truth
I should spend more time absorbing things like this:
Personally, I also endorse this message...
Liberals -VS- The Man
Ted Rall has his viewpoint:
With the exception of New Orleans after Katrina, it's not that bad here in the United States. Consider Professor Henry Louis Gates: he shouldn't have been arrested by that Cambridge, Massachusetts police officer, but he came out of the experience physically unscathed.
Nevertheless, the Gates incident has illuminated some basic, strange assumptions about our society. Cops think they have a constitutional right to be treated deferentially. And black people think cops are nice to white people.
Yeah, well, take it from a white guy: we don't like cops either.
Of course, if we read things like this post from Tom Tomorrow, the reasoning becomes even clearer.
There seems to be tension a-plenty, occasionally.
I reserve mine for when I'm pulled over for no reason...
Funny! Really Funny!
All this talk about health care:
Watching the Dixiecrats supposedly impose fiscal responsibility on the "unrealistic liberals," who, in theory, would go off and provide health care to all Americans if someone didn't put a stop to them, you have to wonder if this isn't all for show.
Speaking of shows, the mainstream media is in full-onslaught mode on health care reform now. They're going after Obama and his health care, trouble-making with everything and the kitchen sink. One more poll published today illustrating how "the public" is turning against Obama on health care reform will make an even hundred. How informative, so impressive.
As long as we're talking about fiscal responsibility, where is it?
Everything Has to Be New
A short history of Ford's Taurus:
The Taurus name is both a blessing and a curse. First introduced in 1985, the oval-shaped sedan that some compared to a jellybean became an icon of Ford's last turnaround. Taurus was the best-selling car in the United States between 1992 and 1996, and 87% of consumers recognize the name.
That would fit most definitions of success, I would think.
Of course, auto executives think differently:
Ford Motor Co. is seeking to change consumers' views of the 2010 Ford Taurus from a capable but dull rental car to a stylish sedan packed with cool features with next week's marketing launch.
"The great news is we have a transformational product," said Matt VanDyke, Ford's marketing manager. "It's the most innovative full-size sedan in America."
Considering how it sold before, I have a bit of trouble imagining what innovation was necessary, but I'm not an auto executive.
...as I count my blessings...
An Example
Krugman opens with an example that, it seems, is sweeping the nation:
At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”
If I were a meaner person, I would say it's another fine example of stupidity.
Fortunately, I'm not a meaner person.
I tend to use the word idiocy, after all.
But getting back to Krugman. He wraps it up nicely:
Right-wing opponents of reform would have you believe that President Obama is a wild-eyed socialist, attacking the free market. But unregulated markets don’t work for health care — never have, never will. To the extent we have a working health care system at all right now it’s only because the government covers the elderly, while a combination of regulation and tax subsidies makes it possible for many, but not all, nonelderly Americans to get decent private coverage.
Now Mr. Obama basically proposes using additional regulation and subsidies to make decent insurance available to all of us. That’s not radical; it’s as American as, well, Medicare.
Something to remember as the swiftboating continues...
Regarding the "Beer Summit"
July 30, 2009
Lessons to Learn
It does show what is possible:
Debbie Godfrey, 42, is somewhat shocked that she and her husband, Jeff Godfrey, 49, have been able to cut back as much as they have this year.
They've refinanced the mortgage on their home in Brighton, saving about $500 a month. They've stopped taking a vacation every three months or so. They've cut back on the cable bill. She quit getting pedicures and stopped paying for a housekeeper.
The cuts were necessary: Jeff lost his job and company car in February. He had managed a sales force for an automotive supplier.
The upside: Their income has been cut by about 60% but they're still managing to make ends meet and save toward retirement.
I would hope that lessons like this would keep in the good times, but that's just wishful thinking.
I would imagine that's also a bit of my personal paranoia about nothing lasts forever, but good lessons to learn, overall...
FARK Headline of the Day
Meanwhile, on the dark side:
GOP's version of a health care plan would give corporations huge tax breaks and would give rich doctors protection from being sued for malpractice. All in the name of controlling costs, of course
That would be a more efficient money-funnel, I would think.
'Toon of the Day
I've been pretty good about ignoring them today, but:
Nate Beeler Washington Examiner Jul 30, 2009 |
Where I Disagree With Newsweek
Even Jimmy Would Agree
Kristof manages righteous indignation and breaking hearts leading to this basic truth:
If men had uteruses, “paternity wards” would get resources, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of 8 industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority. One of the most lethal forms of sex discrimination is this systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth — so long as those who die are impoverished, voiceless women.
That's a basic truth in this world and it doesn't have to be.
Fortunately, he manages to finish up with some hope:
Thankfully, there is the dawn of a global movement against maternal mortality. Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, are trying to work with the United States and other countries to hold a landmark global health session at the U.N. focusing, in part, on maternal health. If that comes to pass, on Sept. 23, it will be a milestone. My dream is that Barack and Michelle Obama will leap forward and adopt this cause — and transform the prospects for so many young women like Shazia.
I can only hope that the Obamas take him up on the challenge.
Regardless of the rightwingnutcase lunatics out there.
Pork Addiction Continues
If we're being honest with ourselves, we knew this would still happen:
The Democratic-controlled House is poised to give the Pentagon dozens of new ships, planes, helicopters and armored vehicles that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the military does not need to fund next year, acting in many cases in response to defense industry pressures and campaign contributions under an approach he has decried as "business as usual" and vowed to help end.
The unwanted equipment in a military spending bill expected to come to a vote on the House floor Thursday or Friday has a price tag of at least $6.9 billion.
Two ideas that I don't like from the previous statements - "defense industry pressures" and "campaign contributions." That's no way to draw up a budget in the first place.
I would hope that Obama sends some stronger signals to Congress, especially when it's clear that Gates has made clear his funding objections:
The White House has said that some but not all of the extra expenditures could draw a presidential veto of the Defense Department's entire $636 billion budget for 2010, and it sent a message to House lawmakers Tuesday urging them to cut expenditures for items that "duplicate existing programs, or that have outlived their usefulness."
Send more messages, I guess.
Depending on Your Latitude, Of Course
Remember when they were laughing at white roofs?
From Dubai to New Delhi to Osaka, Japan, reflective roofs have been embraced by local officials seeking to rein in energy costs. In the United States, they have been standard equipment for a decade at new Wal-Mart stores. More than 75 percent of the chain’s 4,268 outlets in the United States have them.
California, Florida and Georgia have adopted building codes that encourage white-roof installations for commercial buildings.
Of course, it's not for everyone:
In cooler climates, they say, reflective roofs can mean higher heating bills.
Scientists acknowledge that the extra heating costs may outweigh the air-conditioning savings in cities like Detroit or Minneapolis.
By the time you get this far north, the boreal forest is as heat-soaking as a few roof surfaces, but that's part of the plan the earth has for itself.
Glenn's Ideal Vacation Spot
As insane as he is, I don't mind being accused of the Godwin at this point. I'm almost certain that Glenn would like to acknowledge somebody's "innate decency" at some point, however:
Germany's far-right National Democratic party (NPD) has triggered outrage with plans for a Third Reich-style "training centre" in a small village.
The mastermind of the scheme is Jürgen Rieger, a lawyer and deputy leader of the anti-immigrant, anti-EU party that is steeped in pride for Adolf Hitler and the "achievements" of the Nazi regime. The idea is for the old Hotel Gerhus at Fassberg, near Hanover, to become a place of pilgrimage for NPD devotees, where they can learn about the "menace" of immigration, the "criminality" of Roma gypsies and the "innate decency of law-abiding German nationalists".
I'm very nearly speechless at this point.
It would seem that some of humanity just never wants to grow up...
July 29, 2009
Four Hours Ago from the Shat...
William Shatner via Twitter:
I'm going back to The Tonight Show tonight. You won't want to miss this. My best, Bill
Just passing along the word.
Lou is Truly Confused
Perhaps it's me, but calling Rachael Maddow a "tea-bagging queen?"
I know that I'm an old fart but the combination of words and people is just confusing the hell out of me.
I Hate to Calm Down
I realize the stakes and all, but I remember other bills that were pushed through in what I thought was a hurry so this isn't so bad:
Democratic leaders may have thrown in the towel -- telling their Republican counterparts that there will be no health care vote on the House floor before the August recess starts this Friday, according a Republican memo obtained by POLITICO.
Not rushing can be a good thing.
Remember to breathe...
The Truth About Madoff
Don't think for a minute that it was his conscience that drove him to confess last December to his sons. With the market plunging late last year, he knew the jig was up. There was no way that he could keep reporting healthy returns to his clients.
I would think that if a conscience had existed in the first place, he wouldn't have had anything to confess to...
Still a Secret
Up in Canada:
Canadians have invested more than $14 billion to save General Motors and Chrysler, and now own a part of each of them, but both companies refuse to disclose the salaries of their top executives in Canada.
Spokespeople for the ailing automakers say they are private companies and won't reveal compensation packages for senior officials such as GM of Canada Ltd. president Arturo Elias and Chrysler Canada chief executive Reid Bigland.
The refusal comes after massive restructurings and public aid packages that saved the teetering auto giants. They left the U.S. and Canadian governments with 72 per cent of parent GM and 10 per cent of Chrysler.
"The data you have asked for is not available to the public," said Stew Low, director of communications at GM of Canada.
Considering the public expenditure, I would think that it should be.
Majority shareholder and all that bother...
FARK Headline of the Day
'Toon of the Day
In honor of Dan at KFAN:
Joe Heller Green Bay Press-Gazette Jul 29, 2009 |
One Solution to Homelessness
Now why didn't I think of that:
The Bloomberg administration, which has struggled with a seemingly intractable problem of homelessness for years, has paid for more than 550 families to leave the city since 2007, as a way of keeping them out of the expensive shelter system, which costs $36,000 a year per family. All it takes is for a relative elsewhere to agree to take the family in.
Many of them are longtime New Yorkers who have come upon hard times, arrive at the shelter’s doorstep and jump at the offer to move at no cost. Others are recent arrivals who are happy to return home after becoming discouraged by the city’s noise, the mazelike subway, the difficult job market or the high cost of housing.
At least they aren't simply paving them over.
They make lousy fill, anyway...
Conspiritorial Thinking
We have to keep watching the skies over Iraq, according to General Odierno:
The Iraqis will be unable to handle their own air defenses after all American troops withdraw from the country by the end of 2011, the top commander of American forces in Iraq said Tuesday.
Of course, plans are being made:
Iraqis have already asked the United States for new F-16 fighter jets, but General Odierno said it would be impossible to build and deliver them by the end of 2011, even if the Iraqis were able to afford them.
So, what would make it easier for the Iraqis to afford their shiny, new F-16's?
Other than more shipments of palletized cash, I mean.
It would be a good time to watch the price of oil again, I suppose.
Fast, but Visible Puppet Strings
Part of the problem:
On top of an already dangerously influential and morally suspect financial minefield is now being added the unthinking power of the machine.
The idea is straightforward: Computers take information — primarily “real-time” share prices — and try to predict the next twitch in the stock market. Using an algorithmic formula, the computers can buy and sell stocks within fractions of seconds, with the bank or fund making a tiny profit on the blip of price change of each share.
There’s nothing new in using all publicly available information to help you trade; what’s novel is the quantity of data available, the lightning speed at which it is analyzed and the short time that positions are held.
It's an efficient method of gathering large amounts of cash for those that already hoard it, but evidence of a dead system, really.
That's about all that it is.
Friedman is Stuck in His Dreams
Only the title of his column today:
59 Is the New 30
It's funny to watch, of course, the timeline of ages that have been the "new" 30.
I remember "thirtysomething" being on and was amazed at the obviosity of it all, even in my early 20's.
A bit later than that and 50 was the "new" 30. I think 40 was the "new" 20 at the time.
It was during these times that little blue pills appeared on the market and were advertised ad nauseum.
I have reached the age of 41 on this earth and am what used to be ancient in my mind.
I don't really mind it all that much.
A part of me feels sorry for all the old farts out there that cannot accept their age. The other part of me is enraged that they seem to be OK with their idea of taking the earth down with them.
I'm Currently Glitched
Can't talk now. System's down.
Sorry for the holdup. Looks like a temporary glitch in our network has part of Yahoo! mail down, so you're briefly without service. Rest assured the alarms are blaring in the basement and our team is working frantically to get you up and running ASAP. Again, the snag is on our end — so there's no need for you to do a thing.
Back to it,
Yahoo! Mail Team
Because these things happen...
As Long as They're Sending Bailiffs
Send in the troops, I guess:
A Danish wind turbine company will appear before a court in the Isle of Wight today seeking to end the occupation of its factory by the workforce.
Around 20 men at the Vestas plant near Newport have occupied the building for the past nine days to protest against its imminent closure.
The company says its factory must close, with the loss of 625 jobs, because the UK wind turbine market is not growing fast enough.
I would have to agree with the forced occupation theory that I mentioned before.
To be honest, I agree with the decision Vestas made, as long as they provide proof-positive that the world is coming to an end. Soon.
What other need is there for instant profits, after all, if not to die with the most toys or the biggest balance sheet?
July 28, 2009
Dean on Countdown
I can't help but think that he will be a subdued Howard Dean guest hosting Countdown tonight.
On the possible side, however, maybe not.
15 minutes.
Ezra is Too Kind
Though the title comes close:
Bill Kristol Says Things That Are The Opposite of True
He's talking about The Daily Show and the interview that happened last night and the understatement continues:
Bill Kristol, who writes frequently about health care and advises the Republican Party about how to vote on bills, is misinformed on the basic facts of the situation. And even his misinformation isn't terribly coherent...
There is a code word that Ezra could use in this case: Bill Kristol is lying.
FARK Headline of the Day
Apropos of nothing and nearly self-contained:
Woman loses control of 4WD, crashes through fence, spins 180, wipes out garden shed, knocks over BBQ, narrowly avoids being impaled by a piece of timber, finishes it all off with a 'perfect landing' in a frozen swimming pool. Ta-dah
These things happen, of course.
'Toon of the Day
Oh, the comedy:
Pat Bagley Salt Lake Tribune Jul 28, 2009 |
Go Ahead and Guess
The NRA was quiet on a couple of recent occassions:
During his confirmation hearing, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. refused to opine on whether the Second Amendment recognized an individual right because it was a live controversy. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was not asked to share his views on the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms. The NRA did not oppose either nominee.
Of course, things change:
The organization is wrong now to distort Judge Sotomayor's record, oppose her confirmation and threaten to use lawmakers' votes against them.
I can only hope a second amendment case comes up when she's seated. Maybe she can give them a wink to piss them off.
Dammit, AL!
Still under construction, apparently.
Agreed: Hawaii is a State
Salon's War Room:
It would make some political sense for congressional Democrats to start pressing their Republican colleagues on the birthers. If Republicans don't reject the conspiracy theories about President Obama's birthplace outright, their opponents can use it to paint them as extremists; if they do reject them, they might have a problem with their base.
Greg Sargent reported Monday that one House Democrat, Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie, was doing just that. Abercrombie, Sargent wrote, "is going to introduce a resolution on the House floor today that seems designed to put House GOPers who are flirting with birtherism in a jam .... [The resolution] commemorates the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. But here’s the rub, his spokesman tells me: It describes Hawaii as Barack Obama’s birthplace."
In simple terms, admit your idiocy or get aboard.
In other words, ALL ABOARD!
...on Monday evening the resolution passed -- unanimously.
I would hope that this puts an end to some of the transparent idiocy. Of course, there were only 378 yeas in this case, so the idiots have some wiggle room.
Kristol on The Daily Show
I had to step outside for just this purpose, but I just wished upon the first star I saw this morning for a hundred Bill Kristols. A thousand.
Cheezis, he's embarrassing.
(They haven't posted the full interview yet, so no video posting this morning, but maybe later!)
It's Been Said Before
Terrorism is an idea, and in the words of V:
Ideas are bulletproof.
That means that the only truly effective way to fight terrorism is through law enforcement. It's easier to live up to our ideals when we do it that way. Terrorism is (in the U.S.) commonly thought to be a foreign problem, for ignorant reasons.
Unfortunately, terrorism is simply an idea and anyone can get an idea.
The funny thing is that even American citizens get the wrong idea:
Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad...
*
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a sealed seven-count indictment against the following defendants:
- Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
- Hysen Sherifi, 24, a native of Kosovo and a U.S. legal permanent resident located in North Carolina
- Anes Subasic, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
- Zakariya Boyd, 20, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
- Dylan Boyd, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
- Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
- Ziyad Yaghi, 21, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
All the defendants are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. In addition, Daniel Boyd, Hysen Sherifi and Zakariya Boyd are each charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Daniel Boyd and Dylan Boyd are also each charged with selling a firearm to a convicted felon. Finally, Daniel Boyd is also charged with receiving a firearm through interstate commerce and two counts of making false statements in a terrorism investigation.
In case you're not keeping score, that's six U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident.
Sure, some of their names are different, but the idea they had was reprehensible worldwide.
It's funny that good investigative police work can handle international terrorism, given the chance.
I understand that it doesn't need special effects and big explosions, but it works.
It's Getting to That Point
In opinion polling over there:
...today's ComRes survey suggests that the public mood is switching rapidly against the war – and that people do not believe it is worth sending reinforcements to Afghanistan.
More than half of voters (52 per cent) want troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan straight away, with 43 per cent disagreeing. Opposition to the military action is even stronger among women.
By a margin of nearly two-to-one, the public believes that the Taliban cannot be defeated militarily. Fifty-eight per cent view the war as "unwinnable", with 31 per cent disagreeing.
It is going on eight years, after all.
Bonus Observation: I can only wonder what the current polling is doing over here and how "the Taliban" could ever be defeated.
I'm reminded of a thought from Friedman on Sunday:
After spending a week traveling the frontline of the “war on terrorism” — from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan in the seas off Iran, to northern Iraq, to Afghanistan and into northwest Pakistan — I can comfortably report the following: The bad guys are losing.
Yes, the dominos you see falling in the Muslim world today are the extremist Islamist groups and governments. They have failed to persuade people by either their arguments or their performances in power that their puritanical versions of Islam are the answer. Having lost the argument, though, the radicals still hang on thanks to gun barrels and oil barrels — and they can for a while.
Emphasis mine, of course.
July 27, 2009
A Plan by Robert
Almost in bullet-points with some emphasis by me:
First, the House must enact a bill before August recess even if the Senate is unable to -- and the House bill should include the four key elements that have already emerged from House committees: (1) a public plan option, (2) a mandate on all but the smallest employers to provide their employees with health insurance or else pay a tax or fee (so-called "pay or play"), (3) a requirement that every individual and family buy health insurance, coupled with subsidies for families up to 300 or 400 times the poverty level in order to make sure it's affordable to them; and (4) a small surtax on the top 1 percent of earners or families to help pay for this subsidy ("tax the wealthy so all Americans can stay healthy.")
Of course, he does leave the important step to us:
Finally, you, dear reader, must contact your senators and representatives and explain why you want genuine reform -- incorporating the four elements listed above. Mobilize and energize others to do the same, especially residents of Blue Dog states, including Montana where Senate Finance Chief Max Baucus resides. And if you're able and willing I'd urge you to descend on Washington the moment Congress returns from recess. There is nothing quite as persuasive to a member of Congress as real live constituent demanding real reform.
It would be a good test of whether or not being a liberal is a true liability lately.
There IS A Thrill in There
Somewhere:
Click Image for Salon!
Click Image for Salon!
On TDS Tonight
The agonizingly wrong Bill Kristol blathering with Jon tonight.
Oh, I can't wait...
Leadership Emerges!
No wonder they hate Pelosi. Apparently, she has a spine:
Defying skeptics in her party, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Sunday to overcome lingering obstacles and pass health-care reform in the House, restoring momentum to President Obama's top domestic priority and order to her own unruly Democratic caucus.
"When I take this bill to the floor, it will win," Pelosi (Calif.) said on CNN's "State of the Union." "This will happen."
The speaker, who has struggled to overcome a series of recent setbacks, raised the stakes by planning to restart talks Monday among bickering Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee, one of three House panels with jurisdiction over health care and where the bill stalled last week.
A round of applause for Nancy, please.
If for no other reason than to feel better.
FARK Headline of the Day
An actual freeper link, if only because one of the first comments criticizes her:
The National Poltical Weather Service has issued a Category 3 shiatstorm warning for Free Republic and its vicinity, as Ann Coulter publicly denounces the birthers
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
'Toon of the Day
Apparently, I've enjoying the historical perspective today:
Matt Bors United Media Jul 27, 2009 |
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
Historical Perspective Helps
Krugman explains the situation:
Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995. And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.
But he can’t — because the Blue Dogs aren’t making sense.
What follows is a fairly comprehensive explanation of the Blue Dog's claim to incoherence and idiocy regarding health care, followed by this little bit of Blue Dog History:
It’s worth remembering the history of one of the Blue Dog Coalition’s founders: former Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. Mr. Tauzin switched to the Republicans soon after the group’s creation; eight years later he pushed through the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, a deeply irresponsible bill that included huge giveaways to drug and insurance companies. And then he left Congress to become, yes, the lavishly paid president of PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry lobby.
That should have opened their eyes along the way, I would think.
I'm not interested in bashing supposed DINOs but I do have to wonder.
A Good Morning Chuckle
Otherwise known as the state of the GOP when viewed for The Independent:
In this summer of 2009, it is hard to exaggerate the Republican predicament. Out of fashion, out of power, and above all out of ideas, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan now counts as its most recognisable national figure a somewhat flaky, soon-to-be-ex-governor of Alaska named Sarah Palin, of few discernible political talents other than an inordinate ability to attract press attention.
I know that nothing lasts forever, by the way.
Let me enjoy it for a little while longer, at least.
Where Health Care Is
Wendell Potter, former Cigna senior executive:
"It was over-powering. It was just more than I could possibly have imagined could be happening in America."
Read how Wendell grew a spine one day.
On A Positive Note
Alaska is now able to concentrate on being Alaska.
Too bad about the echoes we're going to be subjected to.
Bernanke Comes A'Callin'
What happened:
On Sunday, Mr. Bernanke reached another milestone in his evolution from Fed chairman to Fed showman, participating in a one-hour town hall-style forum here organized and moderated by Jim Lehrer of “The NewsHour” on PBS.
Like a political candidate on the campaign trail — indeed, his four-year term expires in January — Mr. Bernanke fielded questions from local residents and tried to rebuff charges that the Fed was either conspiring with big banks, stifling free-market capitalism or possibly doing both at the same time.
In another story in another location, he described the impending implosion of the economy as the stereotypical perfect storm.
Yet, my addled brain read it as the perfect scam.
Whatever would make me think that...
What Civilization Means
It's a good thing when progress is made:
This month, for the first time in its history, the cover of the British Army's official publication Soldier magazine shows Trooper James Wharton – openly gay – clad in his dress uniform, complete with Iraq medal, next to the headline "Pride". It is the most obvious sign that almost a decade after the military lifted the ban on homosexuality it is finally comfortable with its new clothes.
British servicemen and women now march at Gay Pride in uniform, all three services have become Stonewall diversity champions and a few months ago the head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt made history when he became the first army chief to address a Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender conference. "Respect for others is not an optional extra," he said.
Of course, there is the same old story:
A confidential review two years later across all three services found that most officers and junior ranks, particularly among the younger ones, had accepted the lifting of the ban without much comment. It was only amongst the older Senior Non-Commissioned and Warrant Officers that it had met significant resistance.
Of course, the Old Fart Brigade stands fast and true to its self-loathing.
What a shock.
Oh, Yes. Beck is Insane
Thanks to The Daily Beast, I think I can safely ignore Beck and his lunacy.
I can only imagine how proud Rupert is at this point.
You wouldn't think I would litter on my own page by not having this dreck under the jump, would you?
July 26, 2009
Not Good for Morale, Either
The story:
The U.S. military command is considering contracting a private firm to manage security on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, even as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says that the Pentagon intends to cut back on the use of private security contractors.
On a Web site listing federal business opportunities, the Army this month published a notice soliciting information from prospective contractors who would develop a security plan for 50 or more forward operating bases and smaller command outposts across Afghanistan.
Although the U.S. military has contracted out security services to protect individuals, military bases and other facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, this contract would award a commercial company unusually broad "theater-wide" authority to protect forward operating bases in a war zone.
"The contractor shall be responsible for providing security services, developing, implementing, adequately staffing, and managing a security program," the notice said, adding that the contractor would have to be available "24 hours a day, seven days a week."
I wouldn't mind this so much if the affected populations could give a damn if they're being killed or mistreated by private contractors or actual U.S. troops.
I don't think they will.
I really don't think that extended protection of contractors will help.
Don't get me started on the pay scale difference between private contractors and our troops, because that makes the whole idea ludicrous...
Al Site Update
Still under construction, as of now...
Things that Help
Michiganders are getting it right:
In an age of globalization, buying local may seem like an impossible dream.
But determined consumers in Michigan are finding it a bit easier these days to spend their money on local products. More stores are highlighting Michigan-made goods on their shelves.
And more farmers markets are letting consumers buy directly from local growers. "I try to buy as much local food as I can to put money in the local economy," Kristine Kidorf, 42, of Detroit said last week at a newly opened farmers market near Wayne State University.
Economists say buy-local campaigns can give a real, if hard to quantify, boost to the local economy.
All I ask is that you think about where your dollars are going when you spend them.
I guess I would ask if each purchase is necessary, as well.
Of course, the economy is already taking care of the second question, at this point.
Rich on the State of "Journalism"
Frank knows it and I know it:
What matters about Cronkite is that he knew when to stop being reassuring Uncle Walter and to challenge those who betrayed his audience’s trust. He had the guts to confront not only those in power but his own bosses. Given the American press’s catastrophe of our own day — its failure to unmask and often even to question the White House propaganda campaign that plunged us into Iraq — these attributes are as timely as ever.
That’s why the past week’s debate about whether there could ever again be a father-figure anchor with Cronkite’s everyman looks and sonorous delivery is an escapist parlor game. What matters is content, not style. The real question is this: How many of those with similarly exalted perches in the news media today — and those perches, however diminished, still do exist in the multichannel digital age — will speak truth to power when the country is on the line? This journalistic responsibility cannot be outsourced to Comedy Central and Jon Stewart.
The trouble comes when more and more "established" news outlets rely more and more on entertainment to chase the almighty dollar.
To say nothing of outlets that emphasize points of view other than reality.
So why not comedy? At the very least I can ask to be laughing on purpose instead of in sadness.
July 25, 2009
The Weekend Beckons
Even though they won't listen to me and unedit the tape, I'm going to repost my favorite clip for your weekend viewing pleasure:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Born Identity | ||||
|
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More later...
July 24, 2009
No Wonder They Hate Her
Nancy Pelosi, that is:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she doesn't feel bound by the $235 billion in deals that the White House and the Senate Finance Committee cut with hospital and pharmaceutical companies to defray costs of a new health-care plan, stating that she thinks the industries could do more.
"When we're trying to cut costs, certainly we know that there are more costs to be cut in hospitals and pharmaceuticals. . . . So we'll be subjecting everything to some very harsh scrutiny as we see whether we can get more savings," Pelosi said in a late-afternoon interview, shortly after she left a marathon negotiating session with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats, who have put the brakes on the House version of the health-care reform bill. "As we look, there may be some more ways to get money out of pharmaceutical companies."
Talk about music to my ears...
The Future with China
I have to recommend Dana's article in the newly-sold Onion now that China has it:
The Internet Allows For A Free Exchange Of Unmitigated Information
FARK Headline of the Day
'Toon of the Day
How long must we ignore the infants?
David Horsey Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jul 24, 2009 |
The nightmare for all of us...
It Got Me to Laugh
Morford has a talent for this:
Let us ponder. Because once again and for the billionth time, a deeply sad and hypocritical conservative is now claiming that he will be turning to God not merely for forgiveness for his lusty irresponsibilities, but he is also claiming that, in order to set things right, God will now be actively stepping into his life to help put him back on track, fix his mangled moral compass, tell him the what-what and the don't-stick-that-there.
Only a preview, of course.
If you're thrown by the title, hopefully you can keep going.
It's worth it.
The Current Strategery
It's known as the California pension fund:
The fund, known as Calpers, lost nearly $60 billion in the financial markets last year. Though it has more than enough money to make its payments to retirees for many years, it has a serious long-term shortfall. Meanwhile, local governments in the state are pleading poverty and saying they cannot make the contributions that would be needed to shore it up.
Those problems now rest largely on the slim shoulders of Joseph A. Dear, the fund’s new head of investments.
*
Mr. Dear wants to embrace some potentially high-risk investments in hopes of higher returns.
Because everyone knows that the best time to make risky bets is when it's your last hope, right?
On the other hand, it would seem that Wall Street is cranking along just fine, I guess.
Email from Russ
Being a Minnesotan, I'm proud of the two senators representing me.
There is a bit of wishfulness, however, that I could have Russ:
Earl -
I've got great news. Recently, the Senate HELP Committee passed the Affordable Health Choice Act which includes giving everyone in America the choice of a strong public option.
The pressure is working! We would be nowhere on this important legislation without your continued hard work and dedication putting the pressure on your elected officials through phone calls, petition deliveries, and local actions.
Now, I've teamed up with Democracy for America to thank Senator Kennedy and his colleagues on the HELP Committee for their commitment to real reform. Help me send a clear message to my colleagues that when Senate Democrats stand up and lead, Americans won't forget. Will you join me today?
THANK SENATE DEMOCRATS ON THE H.E.L.P. COMMITTEE
FOR THEIR HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP
It's up to you, of course, but I'm glad to help in my small way, Russ.
Krugman Tries to Explain
The idiocy and failure of the GOP and why it's not going away quietly:
I think part of it is that, in the minds of quite a few, it’s a betrayal of a promise. They gave their loyalty to the GOP and the conservative movement in return for the expectation of being part of a permanent ruling party. It’s just wrong, as they see it, a perversion of the way things ought to be, to have the other party sitting in the White House.
Most of life is a perversion of the way things ought to be, at some point.
It called the "terrible twos" by most of us.
We've all been there, of course, but some of us managed to grow up and accept that, to be blunt, shit happens.
You Could Call It Paranoia
Yesterday, I re-told a story involving a bank without any regard for its customers.
Me. In another hemisphere. In a barely-acknowledged blog with a goofy title and everything.
The bank actually took the time and effort to respond:
In Minnesota News
My initial screams of terror notwithstanding:
State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, said in a Mesabi Daily News interview early this evening that his campaign for governor can be summed up in six words — “Jobs, jobs, jobs, education, education, education.”
The colorful, quotable and often controversial state legislator of 23 years filed “Rukavina for Governor” papers Wednesday with the state’s Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to raise funds for a gubernatorial run in 2010.
“I think I would be a damn good governor,” he said.
The funny thing is that I agree with him, wholeheartedly. He's done an excellent job of representing the area, in my opinion.
The trouble comes with the "colorful, quotable" descriptors used. They would be repeated ad infinitum and the old fart moneyed interests of the metro area would make destroying him their #1 job.
I'm just not sure if enough support would be there.
Slight Progress for Al
Fine. You finally got a picture added.
Still not a Senate-level site, it would seem...
Remembering to Breathe
Susie Mandrak reminds us all (Yes, me too!) that it ain't over:
Bait and Switch on Public Option? No, The Sky Really Isn't Falling
Some selected lines:
The bills are usually weakened at this point in the process - but they're fixed later in committee. One of the reasons it still works like this is so politicians can say, "I voted against that!" if part of a bill becomes controversial in his or her district. (Remember the thing with Kerry, where he said, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I was against it"? He's right. All politicians do it.) Some of the same politicians who are screaming on the teevee against this will be a lot more reasonable once the cameras aren't running. The final committee work is what counts.
So really, the sky isn't falling. I would tell you if I thought it was. I mean, I'm not exactly known as Obama's biggest booster, am I?
I'd rather ward off the attacks from the insurance companies and the Blue Dogs instead. It's no secret that I think single payer is the best solution - but I'm not going to try to poison this compromise bill to prove a point.
And:
Remember: Social Security only covered about half of the people when it first passed. It took almost 10 years to get there, but you couldn't take it away now. The voters would be furious.
We won't get there overnight, but this bill will at least be a decent start.
I'm feeling better already.
July 23, 2009
What the Hell...
It's a difficult thing to wake up to. The wrinkled and weathered face of G. Gordon Liddy, for some reason, on Hardball.
Still believing Obama was born in Kenya.
In other words, as insane as he was when he broadcast suggestions for killing BATF agents a decade fifteen years ago...
In Case You Were Still Not Aware
You should have already, of course, but go now if nothing else.
Good Idea from Al
Al introduces his first bill:
Democratic Sen. Al Franken was about to produce Franken's first piece of legislation. The bill, which Franken introduced Wednesday, would create a pilot program to provide service dogs for injured veterans.
More:
As more veterans return from Iraq, service dogs are emerging as an innovative way to provide vets with both mental and physical support. The animals, which undergo intensive training, help their owners retrieve items, remind them to take medication and, in Montalvan's case, help them keep their balance. Canine companionship also lessens the effects of post traumatic stress disorder, a growing problem for returning veterans.
If anyone has a problem with a bill like this, then there is something seriously wrong with that person.
Avoid them at all costs for safety's sake.
Any Questions?
It would seem that an American Auto Manufacturer can survive in this day and age:
Ford Motor Co. posted a surprise second-quarter profit of $2.8 billion Thursday, due to income related to a reduction of debt.
The nation's second-largest automaker said it earned 69 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.7 billion, or $3.89 a share, for the same quarter a year ago. That quarter was the worst in Ford's history.
It's amazing, I know.
FARK Headline of the Day
Obviously, this one needs no explanation:
Click for explanation, of course.
'Toon of the Day
That's the way it is...and I'm tired of it:
Rex Babin Sacramento Bee Jul 23, 2009 |
DO YOU EVEN WATCH CNN?!
IT'S YOUR OWN F***IN' NETWORK!
This has been a friendly reminder to watch Jon on the Birthers from last night.
The Boom is Over
The word from d r i f t g l a s s that remains true:
...the blogosphere’s Big Bang phase is over. Its undifferentiated cloud of superheated plasma has cooled, congealed and consolidated, and its wild, spacetime-boiling energy has been mostly harness and channeled into something calm and predictable enough for Arianna Huffinton to plug her Kindle into...
That's the way it is, really, but I know that I'm having fun here, regardless.
A Pakistan Plan
Kristof is on to something here:
If we want to stabilize Pakistan, we should take two steps. First is to cut tariffs on manufactured imports from Pakistan. That would boost the country’s economy, raise employment and create good will. Cutting tariffs is perhaps the most effective step we could take to stabilize this country and fight extremism.
Second, we should redirect our aid from subsidies to the Pakistani military to support for a major education initiative. A bill in the Senate backed by the Democrat John Kerry and the Republican Richard Lugar would support Pakistani schools, among other nonmilitary projects, and would be an excellent step forward.
Economic opportunity and education. A hell of a lot better than more of the arms we're going to end up fighting, I would think.
No Call for States' Rights?
Not when states have the wrong idea, of course:
Offered as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill, the legislation would have allowed people to carry concealed firearms across state lines, provided they "have a valid permit or if, under their state of residence" they "are entitled to do so." It was considered one of the most far-reaching federal efforts ever proposed to expand gun-permitting laws.
"This carefully tailored amendment will ensure that a state's border is not a limit to an individual's fundamental right and will allow law-abiding individuals to travel without complication throughout the 48 states that already permit some form of conceal and carry," Thune said during Wednesday's sometimes contentious debate.
Seems reasonable for him to believe in the federal government.
This time.
Of course:
"The states already have laws. Under the Thune amendment, those laws could be ignored. So if the Thune amendment becomes law, people who are currently prohibited from carrying concealed guns in those 36 states are free to do so. It is absurd that we are considering this," said Durbin, the majority whip.
And to think that all Thune wanted to do was usurp states' rights.
Almost as if he knows that those are for poll tax situations and such.
Truth from the Dalai Lama
Presented without sarcasm or comment, other than the title of the post:
We can’t change the world except insofar as we change the way we look at the world — and, in fact, any one of us can make that change, in any direction, at any moment. The point of life, in the view of the Dalai Lama, is happiness, and that lies within our grasp, our untapped potential, with every breath.
The Problem with Privatization
When business is business:
Vestas, a Danish company which is the world's biggest wind energy group, announced in April it was pulling out of the UK, citing the difficulties of getting wind farms built in Britain in the face of local "Nimby" opposition campaigns and the slowness of the planning system.
"A problem we are facing is our inability to get planning consent," said a senior company executive. "We needed a stable long-term market and that was not there in the UK. We have made clear to the Government that we need a market. We do not need money."
Several weeks before the closure announcement, Vestas bosses led by the chief executive, Ditlev Engle, went to 10 Downing Street for a high-level meeting attended by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, where they made specific demands for more direct government support. When this was not forthcoming, the closure was announced.
So...the problem isn't that it's a working wind farm, apparently, but that the government wouldn't pay enough to keep the business happy?
It's situations like this that call for forced nationalization.
Jon on the Birthers
For the love of whatever you want me to love, I need this clip in all of its unedited glory. I need to share this with the world.
Failing that, here's what I can do.
Here's one of the finest segments from The Daily Show that I can remember:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Born Identity | ||||
|
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The most trusted man in news makes me proud.
Now It Can Be Revealed!
Tom the Dancing Bug got me laughing this morning.
Consistent funny, I like...
Impatience Check
C'mon, Al. You got some extra time to get this thing done...
Feel-Good Story of the Day
Roger Griffiths needed a loan:
He wanted to buy a $385,000 property in Mapua, had $200,000 in cash and was going to sell his $110,000 campervan.
That more than met the bank's criteria for a 20 per cent deposit, and the property which included a home and commercial premises would have returned $500 a week, he said.
Seems like a reasonable plan to me.
If I were a bank, I would look into this a bit more. Especially if Roger had been a customer of mine for twenty-five years.
Here's what his bank (Westpac) did:
...the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said.
Here's what Roger did:
Defiant Mapua artist Roger Griffiths today made a stand against Westpac by withdrawing his $190,000 savings in $20 notes.
Defiant? I would say that Roger was as reasonable a customer as Westpac deserved.
Also, why articles have titles like this.
July 22, 2009
Minnesota, The Land of Sanity
Sometimes, at least:
US. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is pushing her Minnesota constituents -- hard -- this week to fill out the 2010 Census, saying federal dollars and congressional representation are at stake.
Of course, on the other hand, representing batsh*t lunacy:
That puts her at odds with Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann, who set off a firestorm a month ago, when she said she wouldn't fully fill out the census form, saying it's an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
I'm remarkably torn since getting Minnesota underrepresented in the Census may lead to losing a congressional district and it's her head on the chopping block.
Mixed emotions...
Matthews Finally Finds A Spine
FARK Headline of the Day
The idiot keeps talking, and we love him for it:
'Toon of the Day
The current state of health care and why American are sick of the image:
Clay Bennett Chattanooga Times Free Press Jul 22, 2009 |
It's Got to Start Somewhere
Sunny-side-up thinking north of the border:
Expressing new-found optimism, the central bank said yesterday that low interest rates and massive government pump priming are bringing the economy back to life.
Bank Governor Mark Carney acknowledged that Canada's economy will contract this year by 2.3 per cent, its worst performance since 1982. But even that forecast is a significant improvement on his previous prediction in April of a devastating 3 per cent contraction in 2009.
Beyond that, the bank foresees an economic renaissance, with growth hitting 3 per cent next year and rising to 3.5 per cent in 2011. In April, Carney was saying the economy would expand by just 2.5 per cent next year.
Carney's rosy assessment was seen as a message from the bank that the worst is over in a recession that has battered manufacturers and cost 400,000 jobs.
Everybody have their fingers crossed?
Funny, I'm STILL Not A Georgian
Regardless of what McCain said last year, they're a bit too whiney:
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili urged the United States on Tuesday to supply his country with advanced defensive weapons, warning on the eve of a visit by Vice President Biden that a decision not to provide such arms would encourage a Russian invasion.
In a wide-ranging interview, Saakashvili said that discussions about a weapons deal remained at "very early stages" but that he planned to press Biden to speed up delivery of antiaircraft and antitank systems, saying such weaponry was "purely defensive" and "would make any hotheads think twice about further military adventures."
Considering the contested facts of the conflict last year, I would have to think that Saakashvili doesn't even know what defensive means...
A Great Big IF
I wouldn't mind the Individual Mandate they speak of IF this weren't so true:
Hospitals, insurers and drug manufacturers -- salivating at the prospect of up to 50 million newly insured customers -- have lobbied ferociously for the federal provision.
I don't mind paying the hospitals as long as their prices have been negotiated to reality and are standardized around the country.
I wouldn't mind paying the insurers if they were run as an ideal non-profit organization. Strict and rational salaries, included.
Heck, drug manufacturers would even be allowed to make a modest profit. As long as I can request a refund every time I have to sit through an e.d. commercial.
At that rate, we may as well sign up a public option, right?
The Afghanistan Situation
Friedman is slightly optimistic in Afghanistan, thanks to lateral thinking.
The multiple deployments by our forces has one positive effect:
All those deployments have left us with a deep cadre of officers with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, now running both wars — from generals to captains. They know every mistake that has been made, been told every lie, saw their own soldiers killed by stupidity, figured out solutions and built relationships with insurgents, sheikhs and imams on the ground that have given the best of them a granular understanding of the “real” Middle East that would rival any Middle East studies professor.
So there's hope, I guess. He states that we're no longer in bodycount mode, so that's good news.
Of course, the good news cannot keep other thoughts from coming up:
This is State-Building 101, and our partners, the current Afghan police and government, are so corrupt that more than a few Afghans prefer the Taliban. With infinite time, money, soldiers and aid workers, we can probably reverse that. But we have none of these. I feel a gap building between our ends and our means and our time constraints. My heart says: Mission critical — help those Afghans who want decent government. My head says: Mission impossible.
I would say that we need to help the Aghans as much as we can at this point, but where does it end?
We are going on eight years, after all.
Confessing Hell
The surviving gunman from the Mumbai slaughter confessed, but:
Given the severity of the crime and the overwhelming evidence against him, Mr. Kasab’s best hope is that his confession will help him escape a death sentence. Most legal experts here think that is highly unlikely.
Judge Tahilyani will weigh the credibility of Mr. Kasab’s confession, particularly as it relates to the killing of a police officer, Tukaram Omble, on Nov. 26, the day the attack started. While Mr. Kasab has admitted that he and his partner, Abu Ismail, shot and killed commuters at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a busy train station, he has denied killing anyone after that, including Mr. Omble. The Indian government estimates 58 people died at the station.
Emphasis mine, as well as a rare calling for death from me.
Not that it will make me feel any better or bring a single person back, of course. Not even the supposed need to exact vengeance in a slew of murders.
Such idiocy needs to be erased every once in a while, though, and Mr. Kasab seemed to volunteer for the duty in this case.
Today's Story of Doom
"This country ought to be, and we can be, not just the world’s leading market but a leading exporter as well. GE plans to lead this effort."
~Jeffery Immelt, the CEO of General Electric
That was last month at the Detroit Economic Club and I would think that it makes sense.
The reality is different:
While Immelt was calling for manufacturing to stay in the U.S., his company was at the same time shipping manufacturing jobs overseas by canceling an order with an American-based wind turbine maker, ATI Casting Service in LaPorte, Ind., so that GE could instead buy the parts from a factory in China.
Recently, ATI made $30 million worth of investments to buy, convert, and modernize a shuttered factory in economically ravaged Michigan so the company could provide more parts to GE as the green economy expands with federal stimulus funding. But a Chinese firm underbid ATI, and the factory faced having to layoff 302 union workers and shutter the plant.
In an aggressive bid to keep the factory open, ATI offered to match the price of the Chinese producers. GE once again said they would prefer to buy from China. The ATI plant is now closed, the jobs gone.
The business of America is business, after all...
The Planned Delay
The party of no continues according to its plan:
Throughout his campaign for the White House, after his election victory, and as soon as he assumed office, President Obama made it clear that reforming the health care system would be at the top of his agenda. Reiterating that sentiment, Obama said recently that health care is his "highest legislative priority over the next month." And the American public agrees. A recent Gallup poll found that nearly 60 percent of Americans said they favor Congress passing major health care reform this year. And while the relevant committees in the House and Senate are hard at work on legislation, Republicans and conservatives, in and out of power, are doing everything they can to stand in the way of major reform.
Have fun waiting for a move to reconciliation.
McCartney on Letterman
Simply because I enjoyed it:
Hope you do, as well.
July 21, 2009
Progress Happens
I was not optimistic this morning, but I am surprised this afternoon:
The Senate voted 58-40 on Tuesday to strip $1.75 billion for seven more F-22 fighters from a military authorization bill, handing President Obama a crucial victory in his efforts to reshape the military’s priorities.
The victory came after the president had placed his political capital on the line by repeatedly threatening to veto the $679.8 billion bill if it included any money for the planes.
The F-22, the world’s most advanced fighter, had become a flashpoint in a larger battle over the administration’s push to shift more of the Pentagon’s resources from conventional warfare to fighting insurgencies.
For a great many reasons, this is good news.
The Evidence is Apparent
I am a geek.
I will be out of touch for a bit while I go to confirm my geekery this morning.
That is all.
We Were Warned
Over 48 years ago, we were warned about this.
FARK Headline of the Day
There's no business like the oil business, after all:
Oil prices rise to $64 a barrel on news that oil prices will soon fall to $20 a barrel
Have a nice day!
'Toon of the Day
I simply laughed when I read this.
Out loud.
Enjoy!
Abell Smith Eat the State! Jul 21, 2009 |
This Morning's Health Scare
The rightwingnuthatch radio is scaring the public with this story this morning.
The funny thing is that they're whining about that Colton will not be able to sue because "it's the government" doing the surgery.
Weren't they whining about lawsuits being out of control yesterday?
The big lesson? These things happen.
That should be infuriating enough.
And It Will Get Worse in Afghanistan?
Support our troops and get them the hell out of there:
A roadside bomb killed four American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan today, adding to the toll in what has already been the conflict's deadliest month for Western forces. The latest deaths push the number of coalition troops killed in July to at least 55 - 30 of them American.
U.S. military officials have forecast a bloody summer in Afghanistan, in part because thousands of newly arrived American troops are pushing into areas previously controlled by the Taliban.
Seriously, the Russians spent a decade killing their way through the area before they left.
Does that tell you anything?
The Recession Gets Noticed
The receipts are tallied and:
Taxpayers contributed £435.7bn to Britain's coffers last year, compared with £457.4bn in 2007-08.
The HMRC annual report – one of several released on the eve of the parliamentary summer recess – underlined the effect of the recession across different sectors of national life.
The crisis in the property market cost the Exchequer £6.1bn in stamp duty payments, of which £5.1bn was caused by the haemorrhage in house and business sales and £1bn from the drop in property prices. Another £5bn was lost in corporation tax, mostly from the financial sector which endured its worst crisis for more than half a century.
The Exchequer collected £6.4bn less in VAT, partly because shoppers stayed at home and partly because the rate was cut to 15 per cent in December to breathe life into high streets before Christmas.
Just letting you know that it's everywhere, I guess.
These things happen.
All About Health Care
The news yesterday:
Obama Calls On Bloggers To Keep Health Care Pressure On Congress
The email from last night:
Earl --
Special interests and opponents of health care reform in Washington have made their priority clear: attack President Obama at any cost.
On Friday, GOP Senator Jim DeMint told a special-interest attack group that if they're "able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." And just this morning, Republican Chairman Michael Steele backed up DeMint's statement 100%. At the same time, the Republican National Committee is running deceptive ads to scare Americans away from the reform we need.
Their plan is simple: oppose health care reform as a political ploy to weaken the President and defeat his entire agenda of change. But if we follow the Republican "Party of No" and do nothing, we'll not only ensure more of the same, but saddle our children and grandchildren with a growing burden of exploding costs and declining care that they may never overcome.
We can't let this kind of slash and burn politics succeed. We can fight back by collecting as many signatures as possible backing the President's principles for health care reform. A huge response will show Washington and the media that when Republicans try to "break" the President, Americans are ready to stand up for what's right.
Sign your name in support of the President's health care principles. Or if you've already signed, please forward this message to all your friends and neighbors.
Never mind the fact that I have nothing to do with the top link.
Just remember that it's the right thing to do and continue the pressure.
Some Apologies
For some reason I'm dealing with a spotty-at-best internet this morning.
I'm trying to get through it the best I can while keeping the blood pressure on a human scale.
Lewis Black on Health Care
Damn, I do love some Lewis once in a while:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Back in Black - Health Care Reform | ||||
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July 20, 2009
Because I Do This
It's a very slow fundraiser right now. If you can make a donation, we need it.
The No-Bombast Play
A good reason to be confident, according to E.J.:
It was not the soaring rhetoric that is Barack Obama's signature, but he recently offered the sound bite that may define his presidency: "Don't bet against us."
There are reasons to believe that his confident words -- they were about health-care reform but have broader application -- were not the bombast of a bluffer exaggerating the strength of his hand. They reflect the high cards that Obama holds and has only now started to play.
Of course, no one ever thought passing a health-care bill would be easy, and the effort hit some bumps last week over costs and how to cover them.
But Obama doesn't quite see things the way his more nervous Democratic allies do because he missed the years in Washington during which his party was beaten down.
That's the nice way of telling some Democrats to grow a spine, I guess...
At Least It's Not Moonwalking
Forty years ago, we were walking on the moon.
Twenty or so years later, we were:
gex is Confused
John Cole describes the current rightwingnuttery fairly well.
gex admits to confusion in comments:
So let me get this straight. Liberals and moderates who did not want to start the war in Iraq are fifth column traitors. But conservatives can openly, on air, advocate for the killing of our soldiers by the enemy and hope that Osama bin Laden attacks the US again.
That pretty much sums up the hypocrisy of the situation.
(Note: Generally, I don't follow the Taliban newsline, but the AP story does have one possibly embarrassing detail:
On July 2, two U.S. officials conceded a soldier had "just walked off" his base near the border with Pakistan with three Afghans after his shift, but wouldn't release details. Four days later, the Taliban claimed "a drunken American soldier had come out of his garrison" and was captured by mujahedeen.
So how's the troops' morale doing lately?
I only ask because this detail is being desperately ignored by certain rightwingnut radio around Minnesota...)
A Man of Principle
He's still fighting for his principles and for that, I still admire Jimmy Carter:
I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.
This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief.
Enough said for sane and rational people, I would think.
FARK Headline of the Day
'Toon of the Day
The level we're at:
August J. Pollak CampusProgress.org Jul 20, 2009 |
Not exactly distinguished...
No Comment Here
I'm sure there will be many, many people trumpeting a headline like this, but if I weren't so convinced of our need for instant gratification in this country, well...
Then I would worry.
Senator Kennedy on Health Care
It's at this point that I want to believe:
Last year, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center removed part of the tumor, and I had proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital. I've undergone many rounds of chemotherapy and continue to receive treatment. Again, I have enjoyed the best medical care money (and a good insurance policy) can buy.
But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to.
This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American…will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege."
Stirring words that I don't mind spreading around, frankly.
(Thanks to t r u t h o u t !)
Welcome Back
To an outstanding Land of Confusion post, courtesy of jurassicpork.
Not that he's ever been gone for too long...
Quote of the Day
“It is essential to who we are as a fighting force that we get this right. We are better than what I saw in those pictures.”
~Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Well...we may be getting to the point that we want to live up to the standards of civilized behavior, but I get the feeling that what he saw in those pictures is proof that we are not, in fact, better than that yet...
Buy the Book - Three Cups of Tea
Chuck brought a massive oversight to my attention via email: Greg Mortenson.
Friedman covered the story yesterday:
...Mortenson told me why he has devoted his life to building 131 secular schools for girls in Pakistan and another 48 in Afghanistan: “The money is money well spent. These are secular schools that will bring a new generation of kids that will have a broader view of the world. We focus on areas where there is no education. Religious extremism flourishes in areas of isolation and conflict.
“When a girl gets educated here and then becomes a mother, she will be much less likely to let her son become a militant or insurgent,” he added. “And she will have fewer children. When a girl learns how to read and write, one of the first things she does is teach her own mother. The girls will bring home meat and veggies, wrapped in newspapers, and the mother will ask the girl to read the newspaper to her and the mothers will learn about politics and about women who are exploited.”
It is no accident, Mortenson noted, that since 2007, the Taliban and its allies have bombed, burned or shut down more than 640 schools in Afghanistan and 350 schools in Pakistan, of which about 80 percent are schools for girls.
Emphasis mine (with thanks to Chuck!) along with my utterly shameless shilling for the book:
Three Cups of Tea
Click on over and buy the book!
It's the only way to win a conflict in the region, frankly.
Remember what hope feels like? This is how it begins.
Oh, the Inevitability
Don's Bad Reporter has a good point about the future of the Supreme Court:
Seriously, WTF are they afraid of...?
A Good Description
I would have to add that he didn't have access to many of the bells and whistles of today's "news" casts, but he did put the time in and cared about the news more than he would have given a damn what bells and whistles the execs would have inevitably foisted upon him.
Now that my whining is out of the way, another view:
When Walter Cronkite gave you the evening news, he gave you the truth. With a simple backdrop, no fancy graphics and screen crawls, he was the consummate journalist. He understood the meaning and impact of the news he delivered to us. His professionalism never faltered. It was a vocation he spent his whole life refining. He did not need to stroll around the stage. He did not need intricate graphics and electronic visual aids. He did not need to proclaim every few minutes that he and his team were the best in the business. Everyone knew it; he was the best in the business.
I would have to wholeheartedly agree with that.
It's Not Impatience
To me, it's simply a matter of checking that link in the right column for Al's official Senate™ website.
Then reporting that it's just not there in the wee hours of Monday morning...
July 19, 2009
What We Don't Want to Hear
Regarding health care rationing:
Health care is a scarce resource, and all scarce resources are rationed in one way or another. In the United States, most health care is privately financed, and so most rationing is by price: you get what you, or your employer, can afford to insure you for. But our current system of employer-financed health insurance exists only because the federal government encouraged it by making the premiums tax deductible. That is, in effect, a more than $200 billion government subsidy for health care. In the public sector, primarily Medicare, Medicaid and hospital emergency rooms, health care is rationed by long waits, high patient copayment requirements, low payments to doctors that discourage some from serving public patients and limits on payments to hospitals.
The case for explicit health care rationing in the United States starts with the difficulty of thinking of any other way in which we can continue to provide adequate health care to people on Medicaid and Medicare, let alone extend coverage to those who do not now have it.
I remain certain that whatever finally comes out of Washington will not stop people from emptying their bank accounts for any extensions possible.
A Sad Story
In Afghanistan:
Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video posted Saturday on the Internet is the captured soldier, but the Defense Department has not released his name. The video provided the first glimpse the public has had of the missing soldier.
The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one of his captors holds the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number are clearly visible. He is shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.
At this point, I have no possible way to comment but I do hope for the best.
Nice of them to Notice
The funny thing is the fact that they let the letter be printed in the first place:
The caption to a photograph on the July 18 Free for All page said that President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were getting in place to be photographed, with a woman to the left. It should have made clear that, according to videotapes of the event, Mr. Obama was not looking at the woman, as a letter writer said that it appeared.
Was there a wink and a nudge when they first printed the letter or what?
Rich on the Hearings
Overall, it was a non-event with an impressive display of ignorance:
The hearings were pure “Alice in Wonderland.” Reality was turned upside down. Southern senators who relate every question to race, ethnicity and gender just assumed that their unreconstructed obsessions are America’s and that the country would find them riveting. Instead the country yawned. The Sotomayor questioners also assumed a Hispanic woman, simply for being a Hispanic woman, could be portrayed as The Other and patronized like a greenhorn unfamiliar with How We Do Things Around Here. The senators seemed to have no idea they were describing themselves when they tried to caricature Sotomayor as an overemotional, biased ideologue.
At least they didn’t refer to “Maria Sotomayor” as had Mike Huckabee, whose sole knowledge of Latinos apparently derives from “West Side Story.” But when Tom Coburn of Oklahoma merrily joked to Sotomayor that “You’ll have lots of ’splainin’ to do,” it clearly didn’t occur to him that such mindless condescension helps explain why the fastest-growing demographic group in the nation is bolting his party.
At the very least, I hope, it was another fine example of the southern strategy going straight back to the hell it deserves.
At least that would be a civilized hope of mine.
July 18, 2009
Quiet Day
So far...
July 17, 2009
Cronkite Has Died
The only apt link I can provide is his home network's announcement.
Goodbye, Walter. I will be missed.
The Inevitable Remix
When anchors attack:
They attack with shrill and whiney voices...
Time is Still Moving Forward
I was going to mention the joke I highlighted after William first went through Boston's pre-stim situation:
While Boston certainly has some unique difficulties along these lines due to its advanced age and incredible corruption, the problems being experienced here are happening to one degree or another in every city, town and hamlet in the country. Repairs to infrastructure on both a state and federal level have been neglected for a very long while now, and this grim new economic reality has left thousands of municipalities in a terrible bind: they don't have the money to fix all this stuff, but if this stuff doesn't get fixed, the economy will be damaged even further.
But a funny thing started happening in Boston several weeks ago: The stimulus money kicked in.
The Obama administration's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law this past February, apportioned nearly a trillion dollars for national improvements in education, health care, unemployment benefits, tax relief and infrastructure.
Of course the noise machine wants everything fixed yesterday so the stimulus is to be mocked.
Maybe they're mocking it because no one is becoming obscenely wealthy for no reason.
Maybe they're mocking it because it working.
Truth/Fiction
My desktop Dilbert calendar provides today's (Being a day late works to my advantage, once in a while...) example of fiction:
Dogbert the Lobbyist: For a million dollars I can have the government include your industrial waste in teh recommended food pyramid.
For another million I'll have Congress authorize huge tax breaks for soullesss, Blackberry-using weasels with coffee breath.
Anonymous Corporate Tool: I just want to hug you!
Dogbert: That's another million.
Today's piece of reality from Politico:
The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s support in a bitter legislative dispute, then the group’s chairman flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.
For the $2 million plus, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and/or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”
The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx , which was provided to POLITICO.
No word on the ACU's charge per hug.
The Third Time
These things happen:
A Capitol Hill townhouse that serves as a dormitory and meeting place for a band of conservative Christian lawmakers has been linked to a third episode of marital infidelity, this time in a Mississippi court filing by a former lawmaker's estranged wife.
(Seriously, how many lies can you get away with in GOP-land? I'm not excusing stupid Democratic representation but trying to fit the family values theme in the same thought as the Appalachian trail hikers...)
In Iran Today
I think the chant is fairly easy to pick out when you watch:
Here, the crowd chants, "Russia, do us a favor and let go of our country!" A smart reader offers, "The anti-Russia chants are great. It's like the '79 version of death to America. They are associating the regime with a foreign power."
It's easy to believe that the Iranians are sick of being toyed with by everyone.
Irrationality
As voiced by an idiot:
"We have the chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we have to resort to the bullet box... That's the beauty of our 2nd Amend rights."
What in the hell is wrong with these people?
'Toon of the Day
Seriously:
David Horsey Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jul 17, 2009 |
FARK Headline of the Day
Krugman Nails It
I think this may become my favorite explanation:
Over the past generation — ever since the banking deregulation of the Reagan years — the U.S. economy has been “financialized.” The business of moving money around, of slicing, dicing and repackaging financial claims, has soared in importance compared with the actual production of useful stuff. The sector officially labeled “securities, commodity contracts and investments” has grown especially fast, from only 0.3 percent of G.D.P. in the late 1970s to 1.7 percent of G.D.P. in 2007.
Such growth would be fine if financialization really delivered on its promises — if financial firms made money by directing capital to its most productive uses, by developing innovative ways to spread and reduce risk. But can anyone, at this point, make those claims with a straight face? Financial firms, we now know, directed vast quantities of capital into the construction of unsellable houses and empty shopping malls. They increased risk rather than reducing it, and concentrated risk rather than spreading it. In effect, the industry was selling dangerous patent medicine to gullible consumers.
Too many middlemen for a nation to survive as a nation, it would seem.
But at least a few (and fewer and fewer) are getting rich (the very best of the best snake oil salesmen), right?
Note: Has anyone else ever read McTeague? A truly fascinating book that partially formed my opinion of greed in the first place...
The Brighter Side of Recession
We're growing up:
The recession is reminding Americans of a lesson they first learned in childhood: Share and share alike. They are sharing or swapping tools and books, cars and handbags, time and talent.
The renewed desire to share shows up in a variety of statistics: A car-sharing service has had a 70 percent membership increase since the recession set in. Governments are putting bikes on the street for public use. How-to-swap Web sites are proliferating.
"I think what happens in a recession or any sort of economic contraction is that you have not only a loss of financial resources, but also you have a loss of emotional resources," said Shawn Achor, a Harvard University researcher and a consultant on positive psychology.
"You don't have as much of the money or security or confidence or pride that goes with financial success," he said. "Our brains try to seek out those resources that are lost. The financial resources are beyond our control, but the emotional resources are not. And we seek out each other. We rely on each other."
I see this as a good step forward. Almost like we're growing out of the shop now, shop more mentality that never seems to make us happy in the first place.
Of course, I was influenced by the Colbert interview of Douglas Rushkoff I saw earlier this week, so take it for what it's worth.
The Anthropomorphism Begins
Gosh, I couldn't believe it took this long...
Let the mockery begin!
A Census Director, Finally
I'm not even going to look and see if the lunatic voted for him.
I'm just glad he's seated:
In a breakthrough for common sense, a bipartisan bloc of 76 senators voted on Monday to end a gratuitous Republican hold on the confirmation of Robert M. Groves as director of the Census Bureau. Mr. Groves, a respected statistician and former census official, was then easily approved by voice vote.
There's work to be done and lunatics to ignore (or make fun of), after all...
The Reign of Idiocy Continues
Jakarta was hit twice:
A senior lawmaker says there are "indications" suicide attackers carried out the twin bombings on hotels in downtown Jakarta that killed nine and wounded 50.
Theo Sambuaga, chairman of the parliamentary security commission, said "there are indications of suicide bombs" at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Friday morning. "That is being investigated."
The world keeps spinning, some hearts are broken and others are hardened, and the idiocy keeps rolling along.
Sad, really...
Regarding Sotomayor
Continued opposition at this point would only serve to shoot themselves in the foot, so:
One of the aides, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Republicans had for some time given up any hope of derailing the Sotomayor nomination. But the aide said that committee Republicans had taken satisfaction in two of Judge Sotomayor’s concessions at the hearings, which ended in the evening with panels of outside witnesses.
Not only did she back away from and express regret for her “wise Latina” comments, but the official said Republicans were also pleased that she seemed to repudiate President Obama’s formulation that a judge needed to have empathy for those who came before the court.
The "wise Latina" comment is still valid, I think, if only because her experience naturally causes her see things from a Latina point of view. The same goes for empathy, really.
If they expect her to suddenly see things from a old man's point of view I would think they're going to be disappointed. I don't think she has that particular switch in her head.
The Supreme Court's basic function to figure out if the laws that Congress tries to put out there are actually constitutional in the first place.
I have some faith that she will do a decent job of that.
Too Many Bells and Whistles
When helicopters get this kind of treatment, someone may have been too dazzled by the technology in the first place:
Twenty-four thousand separate pieces of wiring are being taken out of every helicopter in the grounded fleet of Chinooks – replacing advanced hybrid digital technology with older analogue – in an attempt to get the aircraft ready for service, the Commons' Defence Select Committee was told.
The Mark3 Chinooks were designed to carry members of special forces and were equipped with the sophisticated technology. However the Ministry of Defence then discovered that this was incompatible with systems in place in the UK and were thus forced to downgrade the specifications in the aircraft while other Western countries were upgrading theirs.
Discoveries like this should be made prior to buying our new toys, I would think.
July 16, 2009
The Palin Impact
When all is said and done, this may be the only lasting impression any of us have of 2008:
Candidates can't use campaign money to improve their wardrobes, the Federal Election Commission said Thursday in a ruling that nonetheless dismissed a complaint against four congressional candidates who did just that.
The FEC said candidates cannot use campaign money for expenses they would have had whether they were running for office or not, such as clothes.
I can almost hear her defending herself at this point - saying that she wouldn't have needed the clothes if she wasn't picked for national office...
Imaginary Quote of the Day
Melissa at Shakesville, making me laugh too much to fall asleep now:
Last night, I had a dream that I was at a party in Washington, and I was standing and talking to Helen Thomas (!) when Bill Clinton walked up to us, and Helen Thomas greeted him by saying, "Hey, you old leg-humper! How you doing?"
Emphasis mine.
Recognition is Beginning
Extremely believable, considering what our troops are put through:
Active-duty PTSD sufferers are subject to neglect and ridicule, according to Tim Huber, director of the Military Counseling Network.
"PTSD is a great scapegoat for the military to trot out when veterans face discrimination or have a difficult time securing jobs and making a new life in the civilian world, but while those troops are on active duty, they're supposed to simply 'soldier on' and get over it," Huber told Truthout.
This mentality leads many soldiers to conceal their symptoms for years. It also means that military leaders are resistant to signs of PTSD in the ranks.
I'm not calling for nightly group hugs or anything like that, but would it be that hard to employ and use a few more psychiatrists? Just as useful as a company chaplain, I would think...
Insect Interrogation
Another memo unleashed, another WTF moment:
...a brouhaha that occurred in secret at the agency in 2005. A CIA supervisor involved in the "enhanced interrogation" program bragged to other CIA employees about using fire ants while during questioning of a top terror suspect, according to several sources formerly with the Agency. The official claimed to other Agency employees, the sources say, to have put the stinging ants on a detainee's head to help break him.
The CIA insists, however, that no matter what the man said, it never took place. In fact, even though the Bush administration lawyers condoned the use of non-harmful insects, as the memo revealed, the technique wasn't employed, the agency says. "The CIA did not use insects as part of its terrorist interrogation program," said CIA Spokesman Paul Gimigliano. "That didn't happen, period."
Another fine example of the CIA never lying to us, I sure.
That would never happen, right?
Now, A Musical Interlude
As Vague as Can Be
Roger Cohen tries to push some point that never really does get clear in his column today, but I have to say that I'm a calorie restricter, personally, and only wish I had started it sooner than I did.
Personally, I don't think monkeys are advanced enough to know what's good for them in the first place and that should be made clear before he starts recommending diets based on them.
I'm sure they know what makes them happy, however.
Another Scene I'd Like to See
Thanks (OBVIOUSLY) to Pundit Kitchen!
FARK Headline of the Day
Please go and listen in order to confirm the insanity:
Glenn Beck calmly and rationally debates health care with a caller on his radio show. Just kidding, he shrieks at her like a psychopath
Good golly.
(Link to original YouTubery)
'Toon of the Day
Their predictability is getting annoying to me, at least:
David Cohen Freelance Jul 16, 2009 |
The Obvious Question
As the Sotomayor hearings enter the third day, I wouldn't mind hearing someone treat this seriously:
Has any white man or white woman, during Supreme Court confirmation hearings, been asked whether being Caucasian makes him or her unable to apply the law without bias in cases involving people who are not Caucasian?
Has any male Supreme Court nominee ever been asked whether he can apply the law without bias, since more than half of the U.S. population is female?
I'm going to guess that we won't hear that one anytime soon.
(Standard Disclaimer: As Pearl Jam put it a while ago, I won the lottery when I was born, as well...)
From the More Recent Memories File
I would hope that we're done scoffing by this time:
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh raised eyebrows back in March when he told an audience at the University of Minnesota that Dick Cheney ran a secret hit squad that he kept hidden from Congressional oversight.
"Congress has no oversight of it. It's an executive assassination ring essentially, and it's been going on and on and on," Hersh said at the time. He added: "Under President Bush's authority, they've been going into countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving. That's been going on, in the name of all of us."
d r i f t g l a s s Remembers
40 Years Ago Today
Read it. Go over for the music, at the very least.
I did take away his link (to the bank) in the comments because that is what I do, but what the hell.
I'm not going to sit here and say that the bank is evil or anything like that, but they probably could have avoided this "publicity" if they had been paying attention in the first place.
I find the whole story laughable now. Mr. Griffith is probably a cranky old artist. Craig is a stereotypical business automaton, customer service has gone the way of the dodo, and sometimes a voice in the wilderness can safely be ignored.
Congratulations, "Craig," for getting two doses of laughter out of me.
NOTE: This is not to denigrate my 12 faithful readers out there. I consider you the smartest people on teh internet, of course.